Hi Bruce, thank you for your suggestion. I tried using the physical key and it worked from outside the car. Also the car can be locked from inside using lock buttons on the doors. Cheers!
@Shari Sanders It's been safe, but definitely a bit worrisome leaving them alone! I usually park away from other cars or put up window sun shades in front (I bought the Weathertech set) so there are fewer distractions and they feel safe inside. A post-it note on the driver window could probably work like Tesla dog mode sign, eg "Car is at 72°, dogs are fine. I'll be right back, call (123) 456-7890 with any concerns"
You raise some excellent points about using this feature during quiet hours or near dry vegetation that I had not considered. Thanks for your real-world testing and noise level measurements.
I think that the *Prime* versions of Toyota vehicles might offer some relief for this problem. The EV battery can be brought up to full charge either by using a charging point, using an A/C available campsite, or by using the Charge Mode in the vehicle so that the engine runs long enough to fully charge the EV battery. I haven't tried this yet on my Prius but it should give you several hours of quiet, no engine running, HVAC.
You do an AWESOME job giving reviews!!! You know what to say and you say it clearly without irritating rambling and Distracting stammering. Keep up the great job! I love Toyota Sienna!!! Such an awesome multi purpose vehicle. This video was perfect because I wondered if this new hybrid would work like the Prius climate control while camping inside.
WOW! My 2011 Sienna XLE is a real dinosaur😯 Thank you for all the thought and work you put into your camper van videos, I always learn something. I appreciate that you share it all with us. Safe travels to you👍🏻
Thank you, PG. I am having fun doing the projects and making videos. Let me know what topics relevant to camping and travel you’d be interested to learn more about. Cheers!
Awesome info, with the details on exactly how often the engine runs and for how long. Sounds like the Sienna hybrid is actually not much of an advantage in the way I was hoping, thank you for doing this testing.
We have a 2009 Prius. Once we drove to the airport for a summer week vacation and accidently left the car on with the HVAC on auto mode set at 70 degrees. When we got back, we knew we left the engine on as the engine fired on when we were about 5 feet from the car! I opened the car and shut the engine off. Thank goodness we had filled the gas tank prior to driving to the airport. So, we used about 10 gals for 7 days...
Thank you, this was just what I was looking to learn about. I have been interested in Prius camping and have heard about great things regarding the HVAC system. The Rav4 & Sienna would have more room and would pose an interesting alternative. This is the first time I thought about the noise the car would produce in the camp ground. I have time off in the summer from work so I would love to do more camping but the heat and humidity has been so oppressive I had to cancel one trip. Perhaps this would help if I could muster the funds!
Thank you for your comment. Some RV campgrounds allow AC compressors operation at night. Check with your campground about their regulations. If you are a sound sleeper periodic engine starts should be okay inside of the cabin. I hope this helps. Happy camping. Cheers!
Tellvia, from the video here you may not be aware that it IS possible to run the HVAC indefinitely either from inside or outside the vehicle. If the power is on when you lock the vehicle from the inside, it will keep the HVAC running all night. If you leave the car on and lock the vehicle from the outside using the mechanical key, it will run indefinitely. (The mechanical key is hidden in your key fob!) This could be really handy to keep the car cool on hot days, or if you absolutely need to leave a pet in the car.
Hi Mark, thank you for watching and your comment. I did find out that it is possible to lock the van with HVAC on, as you described, after I published the video. We all learn from each other, and front YT comments :) Cheers!
I am wondering if you can leave only the ventilation on when it is raining outside. It will be much less demand from the engine or battery. If Sienna can venting all night without restarting then it is a perfect camper. I know you can install something allow the windows open a gap. But in heavy rain or buggy environment, using ventilation is much safer and easier.
Thank you for watching and your questions about van's ventilation in the rain. I have not tied running just ventilation without AC or heat ON. Watching the energy monitor on the screen when I did my test with the AC ON I've noticed that the gas engine kicks in when one of the battery charge indicator lights turns off. The engine runs for few minutes and stops when the battery charge increases by one light indicator. My understanding is that Toyota has updated hybrid battery charge management system from previous design used in Prius model to improve the battery longevity, and now gives it a 10 year warranty. It is hard to say how long the fan will run before one of light of the battery charge goes away. Let me know if you will do this test, I am interested to know the answer to this question. Cheers!
We travel for two months from Florida added 9000 miles on the trip every single night we sleep with the AC or heat on as we need it no problems at all we always keep the temperature at 65° inside the cabin. Through the whole trip we sleep on camping ground only four times the rest we Boondocking.
I actually own a 2022 Prius XLE…. But it’s also a hybrid Toyota, and I had fully intended to car camp in it, sometimes in colder temps, and I totally expected it to cycle on and off all night, keeping the car a cozy 72F the entire time. But today, after sitting for 1 hr, with AC running, it shut itself off. I’m trying to understand what you were saying at 2:30 ??? Is there something I can set, that will allow my car to operate the HVAC all night, and NOT shut off after 1 hr ??? This would be absolutely horrible if I had to wake up freezing every 2 hrs, to turn the car back on 😮 Almost a deal breaker…. Or a small claims suit because I was not properly informed…. This literally would make the car 30% less valuable to me !
Hi Chris, thank you for watching! Did you set the “keep the vehicle ON” option blinking on driver’s display? We never actually used the HVAC overnight but selecting the option above may keep the car running. Cheers!
@@Tellvia well In my Prius, I didn’t see that option… However, I was over on the Prius chat forum, and found that locking the doors from the inside, will disable the auto shut off after 1 hr thing. And that makes sense, as the one time I slept in my new car, it was kind of a sketchy area, and i definitely locked the doors ! ….and it never shut off. Today, I wasn’t sleeping, and and didn’t lock the doors, and then it shut off. Now it makes sense. Told my buddy with a 2022 Prius Prime about this, and after he thought about it, he thinks his only shut off when he hadn’t locked it from the inside either. Freaking kills me that the Toyota service people didn’t know about this.
I think where running A/C overnight would be helpful without disturbing others would be when "boondocking" on public lands away from others, or certainly farther away from other campers than in a more tightly packed campground. Measuring/estimating fuel consumption overnight would be beneficial to know as well.
Thank you for watching and for sharing you experience with your Hybrid RAV4. Regarding fuel consumption using HVAC overnight - form my experience, the engine will run about 3 min every 10 min of HVAC running, so about 20 min every hour or under 3 hours of engine idle time for 8 hours of sleeping. Assuming a 0.2 gal/hour idling engine fuel consumption would translate to 0.6 gal of regular gas burned overnight or about $2.5 at today’s gas prices. Cheers!
actually, you can lock your van while you are running the HVAC system. For that you have to use the physical KEY to lock the vehicle while it is running, you cannot use the remote to lock the van, and you can't use the lock/unlock button on the door to lock the vehicle either, only using the physical key on the door lock will work.
Thank you for watching, Sonny. Even on our camping trip two weeks ago it was warm enough, so we did not have to heat our van at night. Heating system in Sienna uses the heat of the gas engine to warm the cabin. This means that the gas engine will have to turn less frequently to warm the cabin then when cool it in summer, since it requires running AC compressor consuming energy from the engine or battery. We’ll test this when we have a chance. Cheers!
I wonder the capacity of the battery in the van? The charge rate. The average draw you get from running the hvac system let’s say in a 80 degree night. You would think that for the health of the battery that running it down to 20 percent then charging it back up to 85 would prolong the life of the battery. Battery memory.
The ICE engine turns on after Hybrid Battery discarded by HVAC operation by 2 ticks on the monitor (or about 15 min of HVAC operation). The ICE turns on charges battery for about 5 min and the ICE then turns off. This repeats as long as HVAC is on. This hybrid battery is NiMH battery that “likes” to be frequently charged up without developing a “memory”. Cheers!
Auto-shutoff can be disabled by locking yourself in the vehicle? Somewhere I think in the Toyota nation forums I saw page of owners manual posted explaining this (for 2020-1 Highlander Hybrid?)
You can lock the vehicle from the inside using the lock button on the inside of the drivers door. ie: get out of the drivers seat, move the drivers seat forward, get in the sliding door and close it, reach over the driver seat and lock the door.
Which drive mode the van was set to? Toyota lowers the performance of the compressor to save energy when driving mode is set to ECO, and it can be seen on the AC control display.
Did you try locking the doors manually (by hand), rather than using the keyless entry feature? I had to use this trick on my older Camry hybrid. Love your videos! Keep up the great work!! 👏
And what is the fuel economy of 55 miles per hour my Corolla hybrid does well over sixty when it's rated at 52 miles per gallon I know this is rated at 35 so you could probably get close to 40
This Sienna Hybrid system is same as Prius. The winter heating mode is same as cooling, the engine will run periodically to juice the battery. The Toyota Plug in hybrid has camp mode that works like Tesla. But not in Toyota Hybrid car.
You addressed very well some of the noise related concerns while HVAC system is running stationary. Did you feel any disturbing jolts and vibrations that might disrupt one's sleep whenever the engine kicked in in that 12-minute cycle?
Thank you for your comment. The engine start and stops very quietly and without jolts or vibrations. Sleeping is definitely possible inside of the van, especially when you are tired.
So, if I understand correctly, during climate control-or A/C at least- the hybrid battery is not utilized by the vehicle? And the Sienna is burning fuel 3 of 12 min. for the duration? So how many gallons did it burn? Please, if you know, is this same or different system than the Prius and/or the Rav Prime or Hybrid? It sounds like it is not appreciably different than running a straight gas engine vehicle would be.
Thank you for watching. In the AC mode Sienna automatically runs HVAC and it does use hybrid battery power. The hybrid battery management system allows some level of hybrid battery discharge, about 2 bars on the display, and then turn on the ECE engine for about 3 minutes. During this period the gas engine runs the HVAC and recharges hybrid battery by about 2 bars. So the ECE engine runs about 11-12 minutes per hour. Assuming 8 hours of run per night ECE will run for about 1.5 hours. Hybrid engine consumes about 0.4liters of gas per idling per hour. This translates to 0.6liters of 1/7 part of a gallon per night. The hybrid engine in new Sienna is same 2.5l hybrid engine as used in RAV4 or Camry. Cheers!
I was thinking of the same thing. Yes, if it come with camp function and removable second row, then I will buy one soon. Now I am hoping for it in another year. Both are not that complex.
Hmm... I have an 07 odyssey and I am going to great effort to air condition it. Installed a 5k btu portable AC converted to dual hose operation, a redarc 50a dc dc charger, im nearly done with 560ah of lifepo4 batteries and 200 watts of solar on the roof. Will it work better than a new sienna? Well at least the seats come out.
In winter times, to keep the van warm inside it’s a good and practical idea to use a small 300-500 Watt electrical 120 AC heater through the 13.6V car battery or another add on battery with an inverter with the the car in running mode while fan is turn off.
Can you run the AC without the engine run? I mean if you put a 12 V battery charger (which connects to a 120 V AC outlet) to the car's 12 V battery directly, will the AC still work indefinitely? From your description the AC is run by a battery operated compressor and not operated by the serpentine belt that runs the compressor from the engine running?
Hi Mark, a couple of things to clarify first: 1) the AC outlet is only active when the van is ON, so the gas engine will turn ON automatically every 12-15 min to top up the hybrid battery that runs the electric compressor of the HVAC 2) the AC outlet is not meant for charging the 12V battery battery, it is a 120V outlet only, 3) The HVAC system compressor is run by the hybrid battery, not the 12V vehicle accessory battery. Based on the above - charging battery with a charger will not enable it to run the HVAC compressor when the van is turned OFF. I hope this helps. Cheers!
@@Tellvia Thanks for your quick response. I am debating between the new high end Toyota Sienna and Kia Carnival for my car camping needs. Do you think Sienna is better than Carnival for this purpose?
@@kwmlin02 Unfortunately, I can not compare the two vans you are considering. I never own a Kia. Get all the data and then ask yourself which van you are more excited about, and go for it.😄
K, I am a bit confused, it seems that you say we should not leave the HVAC system on all night, but according to some of your comments, it seems all right and then on a UA-cam video about Hybrid Priuses which may run on same principles as Sienna they say it's perfectly fine (on Sienna Chat not much about camping in Hybrid Siennas guess the people who can afford them which are fairly new, buy RVs instead LOL, but it doesn't hurt the car or dangerous to leave it on all night, just might wake one when if kicks in or disturb neighbors if you are parked nearby and is there a way to hook up shore power to the hybrid Sienna?
Thank you for watching, Evange. It is okay to run the HVAC overnight if environment allows. In most campgrounds any engine and compression noise is forbidden during quiet hours, but when camping in the wild this can be done. In some RV only campsites HVAC can be run overnight. If you are asking if you can charge the hybrid battery by plugging Sienna to an outside AC power source the answer is no, Sienna is a regular hybrid not a plug-in type. Cheers!
In our 2011 Nissan Quest I have found a loophole to lock the van while it is running. 1st everyone out except the driver. 2nd lock the doors with the electric button. 3rd manually unlock only the driver's door with the mechanical switch. 4th open the door and exit, while exiting, manually lock the driver's door with the mechanical switch. All doors remain locked with the engine running. We use this when we have a short errand to run where our Dog is not allowed.
Hi. Tellvia Thank you for all your great videos.Was curious if you know whether parking lights or any lights on the exterior of the van temporarily light up or flash outside the van each time the vehicle starts to recharge the battery if you had it running the a/c or heat throughout the night? If so, can you turn that off? While I realize there would be engine turnover noise, lights of any kind would be a beacon in the night if trying to covertly boondock in town.
Thank you for watching, Harry. In Hybrid Sienna you can setup external lights to stay off at night, as long as the transmission is in park position. Cheers!
Thank you for watching, Jan! The van is well isolated form the factory. We found that sleeping in it with open windows when it was 42-46 degrees outside was comfortable. For camping in snow country you can use HVAC system which automatically cycles the gas engine on/off and uses heat of the engine and hybrid battery power to heat it. I hope this helps. Cheers!
I would like to congratulate you on fantastic job you did.Thanks for all your info , I do appreciate all research you did and share with people . Enjoy many trips to come with your wife and family .God bless.
If only they made a camping mode to utilize the hybrid design. Changing the parameters from one mode to another at the flip of a switch. I’m sure there’s a programmer out there who can do just that. I also bet there’s a lot of Sienna owners out there who would pay to have a camping mode set of parameters installed.
I still have the old gas one and I use it for camping. I have white perforated vinyl on passenger rear windows for cooling and privacy. At rest stops, I’ll leave it running to use AC, but at campgrounds I use rechargeable fans and screen panels (or a humongous mosquito net thrown over the whole van) for ventilation. Passable and possible (even with hot flashes). In winter I use an electric blanket -if there’s no hookup I run it off a jackery 1000, which will supply about 2-3 days of power for blanket and fridge. hope that helps!
Solar panels are heavy and inefficient. Unless you plan camping in a desert amount of power produced is not sufficient to run even a small refrigerator. Cheers!
Have you and others found when using remote start only the engine starts? Even if I leave the heat or a/c on when turning off van when I remote start the heat or a/c doesn't start. Really a poor design especially for clearing windows in winter or even if want cooler car in summer.
Hi Rob, here is a link www.siennachat.com/threads/non-removable-second-row-seats.64219/ to a community discussion about second row seats in new Sienna that you might find useful. I removed 2nd row seats at my own risk. Since Toyota states that the seats are not user-removal, for safety and liability reasons I can not provide specific information about my seat removal project.
@@Tellvia I have seen the videos and how to remove them I just wondered if you still see the light in the dash? No liability on your part just a simple question if the light is still there when second row seats are removed?
@tradersato, thank you for your questions. Yes, with an emergency physical key the van can be locked from outside, and from inside by using a door lock button on the driver door, while engine is running. I found this out after the video was published. Cheers!
You might have better luck with a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, since battery is way bigger it should run way longer the AC before turning on the engine. Either charge it using electric outlet before arriving, or use a known trick to keep engine on charging the battery for a couple of hours. If you have the full 12kW *(usable capacity) battery, depending on weather, you might be able to get maybe up to 10hrs of AC without turning on the engine at all. Plus the noise from the compressor in low power mode is pretty low (high mode is really noisy since it also cools the battery)
Yes, it will keep you cool on hot nights when camping in the wild. At most campgrounds, however, there is a curfew on engine noise between 10pm and 7am, and while the engine is quiet and turns on and off every 15 min, some camping neighbors may complain. Cheers!
Very helpful video. We recently sold our class B van and are thinking about a 2021 sienna. In addition to the HVAC have you used the 1500w inverter for appliances while camping? Does the engine run in a similar fashion? Also,How long will a 12v fridge run while camping?
Hi Chris, thank you for your comment. The 110V inverter works only when the van/engine is ON. We use a backup battery to run our fridge to avoid engine start/stops. New hybrid battery management system does not allow deep discharge like in older Priuses to extend battery life. I hope this helps. Cheers!
@@Tellvia That is helpful. Can the car van handle your 12 volt needs overnight without too much retarting? How do you charge the backup battery? I really appreciate your video production quality as well as your content. We have been inspired and are going to look at a sienna ltd. today. One suggestion for a new video would be an overview of the electrical systems and their capabilities.
@@Tellvia Me again :-) Do you have a sense of the battery/engine cycle time if running a 12 v. fridge as well as other 12v things like led lights or charging phones. I know you use a jackery. PS a video on how you use the jackery and keep it recharged would be great.
I wonder if it would be possible to use a small portable generator to keep the engine off. Let the generator by the electrical power to keep the battery topped off so the engine doesn’t have to run.
Hi Adam, thank you for your question. I believe the 110V inverter in new Sienna works only one way from DC power to AC power, using AC power output from the generator would not power the HVAC. You could, however, use a small generator to run a fridge and charge a backup battery without running the van engine. Cheers!
Hi William, thank you for your comment. Yes, extracting hotter air from the top of the vehicle will help. Camping with sliding door windows partially opened and protected by vent grids, we found that cool air flows into the cabin thought the sliding doors windows as hot air escapes thought the partially opened moonroof. However, when temperatures are in 90s to sleep in the van we’d have to run the AC. Cheers!
Hi Sunny, thank you for your comment. A couple of points to bring up before I give you my opinion about the carbon monoxide issue and camping with the HVAC ON. In my recent testing I was not able to make the new Sienna stay ON for more than 1 hour, and thus be able to power the HVAC, for longer than 1 hour. Each hour I would have to return to the driver seat and turn the van ON manually again. Perhaps, Toyota limited van ON time while parked to 1 hour to for safety reasons, including CO danger. This means that sleeping with HVAC ON, in new Sienna, is practically impossible. We never would sleep in our van with the HVAC ON because we camp at campsites that don’t allow engine noise at night. Even though the engine starting ON/OFF every 12-15 minutes is relatively quiet, it would be disturbing to us and to others. My suggestion would be to sleep in the tent during hot weather and if camping below 40 degrees, to use a well insulated sleeping bag. If running the gas engine while in the van for a prolong period of time, insure safety by installing a CO alarm in the cabin. I hope this is helpful. Cheers!
@@Tellvia I have a 2022. When I turn the car on, the window between the speedometer and charge meter says "vehicle will automatically turn OFF if parked for 1 hour. " Just underneath that there are 2 selections. One says "perform auto OFF". The other selection says "keep vehicle ON." I haven't tried to run it yet. But I think it'll just stay on until physically turned off.
@@sunnyw4040 In the “perform auto off” mode the vehicle’s gas engine will shot down after the hybrid battery in charged to a pre-programmed level, which typically is 3-5 min. That setting is a default selection. If you select “keep vehicle ON” the engine will continue cycling ON/OFF to power HVAC for 1 hour and then shot down. As I mentioned in my previous reply I tried it recently to condition van’s 12V battery and found that the van stopped cycling gas engine ON/OFF after 1 hours. I hope this is clear. Cheers!
Tellvia, I really appreciate your superb Sienna video content! Other Sienna campers have not reported limits on their overnight climate control duration. Is it possible you opened a door (which halts climate control) during your recent test? Thanks.
@@daveshoemaker5884 Thank you for the comment, Dave. You bring a good point - I may have operated the passenger door when the system was set to “Keep vehicle ON”. Good to know. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing! My wife and l are seriously considering purchasing a 2021 Sienna as our next vehicle. And, being in our early 60's, the idea of camping in it - for short duration is quite appealing... Of course, and with your permission, we'll "try" to emulate your design and build some sort of similar interior framing system using your video as an example of same. Regards!
Hi Trebleda, thank for your comment. I am glad that the video about my bed structure for new Sienna is helpful to your as you considering your design. Good luck with purchasing new Sienna and your camping conversion project. Cheers!
You and everyone with keyless ignition needs a faraday bag to prevent car theft. That might allow you to lock your car from the outside while it is running. You might need two keys to do this - one inside and one in your faraday pocket.
Another viewer mentioned that locking new Sienna with mechanical key (emergency key) locks the door from outside with the engine ON. I tried this and it works. Locking car from inside using buttons on the door also works.
Wow. The 3rd generation Prius turns on once every hour for a few minutes to recharge the battery. The 4th generation is even better. Yet again the Prius is the most fuel efficient hybrid.
Hi Alejandro, thank you for your comment. To improve the longevity of the hybrid battery in new Sienna Toyota design now prevents a deep discharge of the battery and forces the gas engine to turn on to recharge the hybrid battery more frequently than in previous iterations of their hybrid system (like in Prius). This leads to more frequent engine starts when AC is on. Cheers!
@@Tellvia That's good to know. I don't know the technical definition of a "deep discharge" is. But I should add that the Prius is programmed to not allow its traction battery to fall below 30% or charge above 80% That prevents premature battery death. I know that's true for all Lithium batteries but I'm not sure if that also applied to the nickel type ones.
I found that the doors can be locked with the engine ON with a physical key from the outside or by pressing a lock button on the door panel from inside the cabin. Cheers!
Toyota also turned off the unlimited HVAC starting in the 2020 Toyota Prius . They dont want you to use the prius car or the sienna as a camper because it decreases the battery life.
@@Tellvia prior to 2020, the Toyota Prius can function as hvac using the hybrid battery. Toyota turned this function off and limited the hvac to 20 minutes in 2020 so they could raise the battery warranty as a selling point. The Toyota Sienna would have been the perfect camper if they left this function on but it decreases the battery life. It also takes hours to remove the second row seats in the Siena now and the airbag light stays on . Unfortunately the Toyota Sienna is just a grocery getter now. But hey, it gets 36 MPG so there is that.
I added an Lithium Iron Phosphate bettery as well as a larger lead acid battery to my Sienna's 12 volt system as it is responsible for running the fans of the HVAC system. It also supports a 2000 watt inverter (mine did not come with factory inverter) for powering conveniences. Wish I could tweak the usage of the internal battery/hvac/hybrid system for camping mode.
@@ArnoldJagt you can tap into those batteries but the deal is, when the battery gets low, the engine wont automatically start to recharge the battery. In the 2019 prius , the heat and ac will stay on all night long. When the battery gets low, the engine starts for a few minutes and recharges the battery. You might be able to turn off the new 20 minute time limit on the prius and sienna but that would be a software hack. Basically , Toyota doesnt want you to use the car as a camper. Btw , the Tesla has the same climate control that runs the heat and AC off the battery all night. You just put the car into camping mode. You can even watch Netflix on the Tesla screen. If Tesla ever makes a small van, it would be the perfect camper.
you are wrong , once you are inside the car, you can manually lock the car and the car engine will on 24/7.... we sleep good with the ac on all night and our van is lock..... we have a 2023 sienna.
The sienna van is smarter than you! It knows that no one is inside so you can’t lock yourself out of the van. You should be able to lock it with climate control ac running and no one inside with the manual key that slides out of the remote key fob. And you should be able to lock the van with the driver’s door lock switch from inside with van running and climate control on and then just go to sleep in ac comfort without hybrid system shutting off after an hour enabled by the leave engine on option.
Hi Peter, thank you for your comment. I think you have meant to say lock the vehicle from outside.😀 Yes, I found this out after I made the video. Cheers!
I believe you can lock the car while having the AC on by using the key itself instead of the remote. Try it and see if it works.
Hi Bruce, thank you for your suggestion. I tried using the physical key and it worked from outside the car. Also the car can be locked from inside using lock buttons on the doors. Cheers!
That's what I do too, necessary for dogs. Wish Sienna had "dog mode" to make this more convenient.
@Shari Sanders It's been safe, but definitely a bit worrisome leaving them alone! I usually park away from other cars or put up window sun shades in front (I bought the Weathertech set) so there are fewer distractions and they feel safe inside. A post-it note on the driver window could probably work like Tesla dog mode sign, eg "Car is at 72°, dogs are fine. I'll be right back, call (123) 456-7890 with any concerns"
@Shari Sanders put a thermometer inside that people can see from outside
@@Tellvia Might be worth making this a pinned comment. Cheers and thanks for the research!
I did this in a Prius and it worked. Slept in Las Vegas with my dog, it was 108 outside.
Curious how much power and gas was used during that night. What were your controls set to?
You raise some excellent points about using this feature during quiet hours or near dry vegetation that I had not considered. Thanks for your real-world testing and noise level measurements.
Thank you for your comment, Robert. Glad it was helpful!
@@Tellvia would there be any fire issues if i sleep inside the van because of the engine ruining all night??
I think that the *Prime* versions of Toyota vehicles might offer some relief for this problem. The EV battery can be brought up to full charge either by using a charging point, using an A/C available campsite, or by using the Charge Mode in the vehicle so that the engine runs long enough to fully charge the EV battery. I haven't tried this yet on my Prius but it should give you several hours of quiet, no engine running, HVAC.
You do an AWESOME job giving reviews!!!
You know what to say and you say it clearly without irritating rambling and Distracting stammering.
Keep up the great job!
I love Toyota Sienna!!! Such an awesome multi purpose vehicle. This video was perfect because I wondered if this new hybrid would work like the Prius climate control while camping inside.
WOW! My 2011 Sienna XLE is a real dinosaur😯 Thank you for all the thought and work you put into your camper van videos, I always learn something. I appreciate that you share it all with us. Safe travels to you👍🏻
Thank you, PG. I am having fun doing the projects and making videos. Let me know what topics relevant to camping and travel you’d be interested to learn more about. Cheers!
Does the 2011 have climate control feature??
@@Dan0rioN The 2021 model year Sienna is the first model that is a hybrid. All previous models are gasoline only.
Awesome info, with the details on exactly how often the engine runs and for how long.
Sounds like the Sienna hybrid is actually not much of an advantage in the way I was hoping, thank you for doing this testing.
We have a 2009 Prius. Once we drove to the airport for a summer week vacation and accidently left the car on with the HVAC on auto mode set at 70 degrees. When we got back, we knew we left the engine on as the engine fired on when we were about 5 feet from the car! I opened the car and shut the engine off. Thank goodness we had filled the gas tank prior to driving to the airport. So, we used about 10 gals for 7 days...
that's pretty much the whole tank.
Wow that's very efficient-- only 1.4 gallons used per day! What was the outside temp during the daytime? Thanks!
Thank you, I also have a 2021 and struggle to find the conversion factors that I am looking for.
Thank you, this was just what I was looking to learn about. I have been interested in Prius camping and have heard about great things regarding the HVAC system. The Rav4 & Sienna would have more room and would pose an interesting alternative. This is the first time I thought about the noise the car would produce in the camp ground. I have time off in the summer from work so I would love to do more camping but the heat and humidity has been so oppressive I had to cancel one trip. Perhaps this would help if I could muster the funds!
Thank you for your comment. Some RV campgrounds allow AC compressors operation at night. Check with your campground about their regulations. If you are a sound sleeper periodic engine starts should be okay inside of the cabin. I hope this helps. Happy camping. Cheers!
Tellvia, from the video here you may not be aware that it IS possible to run the HVAC indefinitely either from inside or outside the vehicle. If the power is on when you lock the vehicle from the inside, it will keep the HVAC running all night.
If you leave the car on and lock the vehicle from the outside using the mechanical key, it will run indefinitely. (The mechanical key is hidden in your key fob!) This could be really handy to keep the car cool on hot days, or if you absolutely need to leave a pet in the car.
Hi Mark, thank you for watching and your comment. I did find out that it is possible to lock the van with HVAC on, as you described, after I published the video. We all learn from each other, and front YT comments :) Cheers!
Yes! 👍
I am wondering if you can leave only the ventilation on when it is raining outside. It will be much less demand from the engine or battery. If Sienna can venting all night without restarting then it is a perfect camper. I know you can install something allow the windows open a gap. But in heavy rain or buggy environment, using ventilation is much safer and easier.
Thank you for watching and your questions about van's ventilation in the rain. I have not tied running just ventilation without AC or heat ON. Watching the energy monitor on the screen when I did my test with the AC ON I've noticed that the gas engine kicks in when one of the battery charge indicator lights turns off. The engine runs for few minutes and stops when the battery charge increases by one light indicator. My understanding is that Toyota has updated hybrid battery charge management system from previous design used in Prius model to improve the battery longevity, and now gives it a 10 year warranty. It is hard to say how long the fan will run before one of light of the battery charge goes away. Let me know if you will do this test, I am interested to know the answer to this question. Cheers!
We travel for two months from Florida added 9000 miles on the trip every single night we sleep with the AC or heat on as we need it no problems at all we always keep the temperature at 65° inside the cabin. Through the whole trip we sleep on camping ground only four times the rest we Boondocking.
That is awesome!
You are so knowledgeable about the siennas systems. I’ve learned things about my vehicle I never knew and I’ve had it since 2016z
Hi Simone, I'm glad my videos were helpful. Happy driving!
I like your videos. Always learning. Thanks for sharing.
Also even the darkest tint you can still see inside a lil I put perforated vinyl eon the outside works good
I actually own a 2022 Prius XLE…. But it’s also a hybrid Toyota, and I had fully intended to car camp in it, sometimes in colder temps, and I totally expected it to cycle on and off all night, keeping the car a cozy 72F the entire time. But today, after sitting for 1 hr, with AC running, it shut itself off.
I’m trying to understand what you were saying at 2:30 ??? Is there something I can set, that will allow my car to operate the HVAC all night, and NOT shut off after 1 hr ???
This would be absolutely horrible if I had to wake up freezing every 2 hrs, to turn the car back on 😮 Almost a deal breaker…. Or a small claims suit because I was not properly informed…. This literally would make the car 30% less valuable to me !
Hi Chris, thank you for watching! Did you set the “keep the vehicle ON” option blinking on driver’s display? We never actually used the HVAC overnight but selecting the option above may keep the car running. Cheers!
@@Tellvia well In my Prius, I didn’t see that option… However, I was over on the Prius chat forum, and found that locking the doors from the inside, will disable the auto shut off after 1 hr thing. And that makes sense, as the one time I slept in my new car, it was kind of a sketchy area, and i definitely locked the doors ! ….and it never shut off. Today, I wasn’t sleeping, and and didn’t lock the doors, and then it shut off. Now it makes sense. Told my buddy with a 2022 Prius Prime about this, and after he thought about it, he thinks his only shut off when he hadn’t locked it from the inside either. Freaking kills me that the Toyota service people didn’t know about this.
@@Chris_Wolfgram Glad to hear that you found the culprit for the shutdown. Locking doors does make sense. Happy camping!
I think where running A/C overnight would be helpful without disturbing others would be when "boondocking" on public lands away from others, or certainly farther away from other campers than in a more tightly packed campground. Measuring/estimating fuel consumption overnight would be beneficial to know as well.
Thank you for watching and for sharing you experience with your Hybrid RAV4. Regarding fuel consumption using HVAC overnight - form my experience, the engine will run about 3 min every 10 min of HVAC running, so about 20 min every hour or under 3 hours of engine idle time for 8 hours of sleeping. Assuming a 0.2 gal/hour idling engine fuel consumption would translate to 0.6 gal of regular gas burned overnight or about $2.5 at today’s gas prices. Cheers!
Tellvia, thanks for making great videos with excellent content. Thanks for sharing knowledge and helping other Sienna owners
@9VKG, I happy your find my videos useful. Thank you for watching. Cheers!
Doesn't the Sienna use the AC compressor as a heat pump for heating like the newer Prius.
Fantastic! The review I was looking for!
Your videos are really great. I would like to kindly suggest leaving out the background music, though, as it's difficult to hear you.
Thank you for watching, Karen! Will do. Cheers.
I want to thank Toyota for having the foresight of thinking that a car is a living environnment.
actually, you can lock your van while you are running the HVAC system. For that you have to use the physical KEY to lock the vehicle while it is running, you cannot use the remote to lock the van, and you can't use the lock/unlock button on the door to lock the vehicle either, only using the physical key on the door lock will work.
Thanks for the test. Have you done the same test in cold weather. That is using the heat to keep the interior warm in the winter.
Thank you for watching, Sonny. Even on our camping trip two weeks ago it was warm enough, so we did not have to heat our van at night. Heating system in Sienna uses the heat of the gas engine to warm the cabin. This means that the gas engine will have to turn less frequently to warm the cabin then when cool it in summer, since it requires running AC compressor consuming energy from the engine or battery. We’ll test this when we have a chance. Cheers!
I wonder the capacity of the battery in the van? The charge rate. The average draw you get from running the hvac system let’s say in a 80 degree night. You would think that for the health of the battery that running it down to 20 percent then charging it back up to 85 would prolong the life of the battery. Battery memory.
The ICE engine turns on after Hybrid Battery discarded by HVAC operation by 2 ticks on the monitor (or about 15 min of HVAC operation). The ICE turns on charges battery for about 5 min and the ICE then turns off. This repeats as long as HVAC is on. This hybrid battery is NiMH battery that “likes” to be frequently charged up without developing a “memory”. Cheers!
Please let me know if you can build me a kit like yours in the 80/20 material
Auto-shutoff can be disabled by locking yourself in the vehicle? Somewhere I think in the Toyota nation forums I saw page of owners manual posted explaining this (for 2020-1 Highlander Hybrid?)
You can lock the vehicle from the inside using the lock button on the inside of the drivers door. ie: get out of the drivers seat, move the drivers seat forward, get in the sliding door and close it, reach over the driver seat and lock the door.
Which drive mode the van was set to? Toyota lowers the performance of the compressor to save energy when driving mode is set to ECO, and it can be seen on the AC control display.
Where is this display shut off switch
Did you try locking the doors manually (by hand), rather than using the keyless entry feature?
I had to use this trick on my older Camry hybrid.
Love your videos! Keep up the great work!! 👏
Thanks, Ralph! Yes, locking with the key works. Another viewer mentioned this to me as well earlier. Cheers!
And what is the fuel economy of 55 miles per hour my Corolla hybrid does well over sixty when it's rated at 52 miles per gallon I know this is rated at 35 so you could probably get close to 40
for heat an electric blanket might be easier on the engine cycle on and off.
That is what I use when camping in my Prius.
@@tdgdbs1 Any idea what the stop/start cycle would be for, say, a 30-50F night?
This Sienna Hybrid system is same as Prius. The winter heating mode is same as cooling, the engine will run periodically to juice the battery. The Toyota Plug in hybrid has camp mode that works like Tesla. But not in Toyota Hybrid car.
Thanks Wayne, good to know. Cheers!
Thank you for sharing your informative and well thought out review. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
You addressed very well some of the noise related concerns while HVAC system is running stationary. Did you feel any disturbing jolts and vibrations that might disrupt one's sleep whenever the engine kicked in in that 12-minute cycle?
Thank you for your comment. The engine start and stops very quietly and without jolts or vibrations. Sleeping is definitely possible inside of the van, especially when you are tired.
So, if I understand correctly, during climate control-or A/C at least- the hybrid battery is not utilized by the vehicle? And the Sienna is burning fuel 3 of 12 min. for the duration? So how many gallons did it burn? Please, if you know, is this same or different system than the Prius and/or the Rav Prime or Hybrid? It sounds like it is not appreciably different than running a straight gas engine vehicle would be.
Thank you for watching. In the AC mode Sienna automatically runs HVAC and it does use hybrid battery power. The hybrid battery management system allows some level of hybrid battery discharge, about 2 bars on the display, and then turn on the ECE engine for about 3 minutes. During this period the gas engine runs the HVAC and recharges hybrid battery by about 2 bars. So the ECE engine runs about 11-12 minutes per hour. Assuming 8 hours of run per night ECE will run for about 1.5 hours. Hybrid engine consumes about 0.4liters of gas per idling per hour. This translates to 0.6liters of 1/7 part of a gallon per night. The hybrid engine in new Sienna is same 2.5l hybrid engine as used in RAV4 or Camry. Cheers!
I was thinking about full time living in Sienna 2021. Looks like it wont work.
Please share why you think it won't
I was thinking of the same thing. Yes, if it come with camp function and removable second row, then I will buy one soon. Now I am hoping for it in another year. Both are not that complex.
Hmm... I have an 07 odyssey and I am going to great effort to air condition it. Installed a 5k btu portable AC converted to dual hose operation, a redarc 50a dc dc charger, im nearly done with 560ah of lifepo4 batteries and 200 watts of solar on the roof. Will it work better than a new sienna?
Well at least the seats come out.
Don’t do 50a dc to dc on odyssey. It will kill your alternator. 20amp is ok while alternator idling.
I learn a lot from you, thank you very much. 👍👍🙏
In winter times, to keep the van warm inside it’s a good and practical idea to use a small 300-500 Watt electrical 120 AC heater through the 13.6V car battery or another add on battery with an inverter with the the car in running mode while fan is turn off.
Hi Albert, thank you for sharing your experience. I look forward to testing our Sienna for winter camping in a few months. Cheers!
Can you run the AC without the engine run? I mean if you put a 12 V battery charger (which connects to a 120 V AC outlet) to the car's 12 V battery directly, will the AC still work indefinitely? From your description the AC is run by a battery operated compressor and not operated by the serpentine belt that runs the compressor from the engine running?
Hi Mark, a couple of things to clarify first: 1) the AC outlet is only active when the van is ON, so the gas engine will turn ON automatically every 12-15 min to top up the hybrid battery that runs the electric compressor of the HVAC 2) the AC outlet is not meant for charging the 12V battery battery, it is a 120V outlet only, 3) The HVAC system compressor is run by the hybrid battery, not the 12V vehicle accessory battery. Based on the above - charging battery with a charger will not enable it to run the HVAC compressor when the van is turned OFF. I hope this helps. Cheers!
@@Tellvia Thanks for your quick response. I am debating between the new high end Toyota Sienna and Kia Carnival for my car camping needs. Do you think Sienna is better than Carnival for this purpose?
@@kwmlin02 Unfortunately, I can not compare the two vans you are considering. I never own a Kia. Get all the data and then ask yourself which van you are more excited about, and go for it.😄
K, I am a bit confused, it seems that you say we should not leave the HVAC system on all night, but according to some of your comments, it seems all right and then on a UA-cam video about Hybrid Priuses which may run on same principles as Sienna they say it's perfectly fine (on Sienna Chat not much about camping in Hybrid Siennas guess the people who can afford them which are fairly new, buy RVs instead LOL, but it doesn't hurt the car or dangerous to leave it on all night, just might wake one when if kicks in or disturb neighbors if you are parked nearby and is there a way to hook up shore power to the hybrid Sienna?
Thank you for watching, Evange. It is okay to run the HVAC overnight if environment allows. In most campgrounds any engine and compression noise is forbidden during quiet hours, but when camping in the wild this can be done. In some RV only campsites HVAC can be run overnight. If you are asking if you can charge the hybrid battery by plugging Sienna to an outside AC power source the answer is no, Sienna is a regular hybrid not a plug-in type. Cheers!
In our 2011 Nissan Quest I have found a loophole to lock the van while it is running.
1st everyone out except the driver.
2nd lock the doors with the electric button.
3rd manually unlock only the driver's door with the mechanical switch.
4th open the door and exit, while exiting, manually lock the driver's door with the mechanical switch.
All doors remain locked with the engine running.
We use this when we have a short errand to run where our Dog is not allowed.
Hi. Tellvia Thank you for all your great videos.Was curious if you know whether parking lights or any lights on the exterior of the van temporarily light up or flash outside the van each time the vehicle starts to recharge the battery if you had it running the a/c or heat throughout the night? If so, can you turn that off? While I realize there would be engine turnover noise, lights of any kind would be a beacon in the night if trying to covertly boondock in town.
Thank you for watching, Harry. In Hybrid Sienna you can setup external lights to stay off at night, as long as the transmission is in park position. Cheers!
Are you thinking about the thermal proofing of the van ?
Thank you for watching, Jan! The van is well isolated form the factory. We found that sleeping in it with open windows when it was 42-46 degrees outside was comfortable. For camping in snow country you can use HVAC system which automatically cycles the gas engine on/off and uses heat of the engine and hybrid battery power to heat it. I hope this helps. Cheers!
I would like to congratulate you on fantastic job you did.Thanks for all your info , I do appreciate all research you did and share with people . Enjoy many trips to come with your wife and family .God bless.
If only they made a camping mode to utilize the hybrid design. Changing the parameters from one mode to another at the flip of a switch. I’m sure there’s a programmer out there who can do just that. I also bet there’s a lot of Sienna owners out there who would pay to have a camping mode set of parameters installed.
Is there any way to use the old gas engine sienna for camping heating or cooling
I still have the old gas one and I use it for camping. I have white perforated vinyl on passenger rear windows for cooling and privacy. At rest stops, I’ll leave it running to use AC, but at campgrounds I use rechargeable fans and screen panels (or a humongous mosquito net thrown over the whole van) for ventilation. Passable and possible (even with hot flashes). In winter I use an electric blanket -if there’s no hookup I run it off a jackery 1000, which will supply about 2-3 days of power for blanket and fridge. hope that helps!
It’s possible to add solar panels
Solar panels are heavy and inefficient. Unless you plan camping in a desert amount of power produced is not sufficient to run even a small refrigerator. Cheers!
Thanks efficient and practical information presentation , your not horrible to to look at either *have a nice day*
Have you and others found when using remote start only the engine starts? Even if I leave the heat or a/c on when turning off van when I remote start the heat or a/c doesn't start. Really a poor design especially for clearing windows in winter or even if want cooler car in summer.
When you permanently take out the second row of seats for camping do you have an airbag warning light on dashboard
Hi Rob, here is a link www.siennachat.com/threads/non-removable-second-row-seats.64219/ to a community discussion about second row seats in new Sienna that you might find useful. I removed 2nd row seats at my own risk. Since Toyota states that the seats are not user-removal, for safety and liability reasons I can not provide specific information about my seat removal project.
@@Tellvia I have seen the videos and how to remove them I just wondered if you still see the light in the dash? No liability on your part just a simple question if the light is still there when second row seats are removed?
Once the seats are removed the airbag malfunction warning is displayed and can not be cancelled.
@@robn.5932 ua-cam.com/video/CFSBTX6F_sw/v-deo.html
@@robn.5932 The fix is for 2021 model sienna hybrid for now, but says he’s working on 2022 soon.
Can you lock the van from the inside with hvac ac on sleeping inside the van all night?
Yes, you can lock the van from inside using the driver door button.
Did you try to lock the van from the inside? (While running) or with the key and not just the key fob button?
@tradersato, thank you for your questions. Yes, with an emergency physical key the van can be locked from outside, and from inside by using a door lock button on the driver door, while engine is running. I found this out after the video was published. Cheers!
Sir with all due respect you can lock the van while running Ac or heat. You lock the van from driver side door manually.
My Corolla has a similar drivetrain and it turns off after 1 hour
You might have better luck with a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, since battery is way bigger it should run way longer the AC before turning on the engine. Either charge it using electric outlet before arriving, or use a known trick to keep engine on charging the battery for a couple of hours.
If you have the full 12kW *(usable capacity) battery, depending on weather, you might be able to get maybe up to 10hrs of AC without turning on the engine at all. Plus the noise from the compressor in low power mode is pretty low (high mode is really noisy since it also cools the battery)
Hi Jose, thank you for you comment. Good points. Both vans have great features, the mpg was the most attractive to us. Cheers!
can you live in it?? in hot weather?
Yes, it will keep you cool on hot nights when camping in the wild. At most campgrounds, however, there is a curfew on engine noise between 10pm and 7am, and while the engine is quiet and turns on and off every 15 min, some camping neighbors may complain. Cheers!
Very helpful video. We recently sold our class B van and are thinking about a 2021 sienna. In addition to the HVAC have you used the 1500w inverter for appliances while camping? Does the engine run in a similar fashion? Also,How long will a 12v fridge run while camping?
Hi Chris, thank you for your comment. The 110V inverter works only when the van/engine is ON. We use a backup battery to run our fridge to avoid engine start/stops. New hybrid battery management system does not allow deep discharge like in older Priuses to extend battery life. I hope this helps. Cheers!
@@Tellvia That is helpful. Can the car van handle your 12 volt needs overnight without too much retarting? How do you charge the backup battery? I really appreciate your video production quality as well as your content. We have been inspired and are going to look at a sienna ltd. today. One suggestion for a new video would be an overview of the electrical systems and their capabilities.
@@Tellvia Me again :-) Do you have a sense of the battery/engine cycle time if running a 12 v. fridge as well as other 12v things like led lights or charging phones. I know you use a jackery. PS a video on how you use the jackery and keep it recharged would be great.
Great video and much appreciated testing.
Glad it was helpful!
I wonder if it would be possible to use a small portable generator to keep the engine off. Let the generator by the electrical power to keep the battery topped off so the engine doesn’t have to run.
Hi Adam, thank you for your question. I believe the 110V inverter in new Sienna works only one way from DC power to AC power, using AC power output from the generator would not power the HVAC. You could, however, use a small generator to run a fridge and charge a backup battery without running the van engine. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing. I wonder if a small electric extraction fan using the sunroof area might be a good solution for overnight ventilation and cooling.
Hi William, thank you for your comment. Yes, extracting hotter air from the top of the vehicle will help. Camping with sliding door windows partially opened and protected by vent grids, we found that cool air flows into the cabin thought the sliding doors windows as hot air escapes thought the partially opened moonroof. However, when temperatures are in 90s to sleep in the van we’d have to run the AC. Cheers!
@@Tellvia Will Sienna allow you to run the AC for the entire night in "ready mode"?
Do you have any opinions about people saying you'll die from CO2 coming into the van when you are sleeping?
Hi Sunny, thank you for your comment. A couple of points to bring up before I give you my opinion about the carbon monoxide issue and camping with the HVAC ON. In my recent testing I was not able to make the new Sienna stay ON for more than 1 hour, and thus be able to power the HVAC, for longer than 1 hour. Each hour I would have to return to the driver seat and turn the van ON manually again. Perhaps, Toyota limited van ON time while parked to 1 hour to for safety reasons, including CO danger. This means that sleeping with HVAC ON, in new Sienna, is practically impossible. We never would sleep in our van with the HVAC ON because we camp at campsites that don’t allow engine noise at night. Even though the engine starting ON/OFF every 12-15 minutes is relatively quiet, it would be disturbing to us and to others. My suggestion would be to sleep in the tent during hot weather and if camping below 40 degrees, to use a well insulated sleeping bag. If running the gas engine while in the van for a prolong period of time, insure safety by installing a CO alarm in the cabin. I hope this is helpful. Cheers!
@@Tellvia I have a 2022. When I turn the car on, the window between the speedometer and charge meter says "vehicle will automatically turn OFF if parked for 1 hour. " Just underneath that there are 2 selections. One says "perform auto OFF". The other selection says "keep vehicle ON."
I haven't tried to run it yet. But I think it'll just stay on until physically turned off.
@@sunnyw4040 In the “perform auto off” mode the vehicle’s gas engine will shot down after the hybrid battery in charged to a pre-programmed level, which typically is 3-5 min. That setting is a default selection. If you select “keep vehicle ON” the engine will continue cycling ON/OFF to power HVAC for 1 hour and then shot down. As I mentioned in my previous reply I tried it recently to condition van’s 12V battery and found that the van stopped cycling gas engine ON/OFF after 1 hours. I hope this is clear. Cheers!
Tellvia, I really appreciate your superb Sienna video content! Other Sienna campers have not reported limits on their overnight climate control duration. Is it possible you opened a door (which halts climate control) during your recent test? Thanks.
@@daveshoemaker5884 Thank you for the comment, Dave. You bring a good point - I may have operated the passenger door when the system was set to “Keep vehicle ON”. Good to know. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing!
My wife and l are seriously considering purchasing a 2021 Sienna as our next vehicle. And, being in our early 60's, the idea of camping in it - for short duration is quite appealing... Of course, and with your permission, we'll "try" to emulate your design and build some sort of similar interior framing system using your video as an example of same.
Regards!
Hi Trebleda, thank for your comment. I am glad that the video about my bed structure for new Sienna is helpful to your as you considering your design. Good luck with purchasing new Sienna and your camping conversion project. Cheers!
Great review very detailed 👍
You and everyone with keyless ignition needs a faraday bag to prevent car theft. That might allow you to lock your car from the outside while it is running. You might need two keys to do this - one inside and one in your faraday pocket.
Another viewer mentioned that locking new Sienna with mechanical key (emergency key) locks the door from outside with the engine ON. I tried this and it works. Locking car from inside using buttons on the door also works.
You can lock the van by hitting the lock button on the door.
Great video
Very detailed test.
Excellent! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow. The 3rd generation Prius turns on once every hour for a few minutes to recharge the battery. The 4th generation is even better. Yet again the Prius is the most fuel efficient hybrid.
Hi Alejandro, thank you for your comment. To improve the longevity of the hybrid battery in new Sienna Toyota design now prevents a deep discharge of the battery and forces the gas engine to turn on to recharge the hybrid battery more frequently than in previous iterations of their hybrid system (like in Prius). This leads to more frequent engine starts when AC is on. Cheers!
@@Tellvia That's good to know. I don't know the technical definition of a "deep discharge" is. But I should add that the Prius is programmed to not allow its traction battery to fall below 30% or charge above 80% That prevents premature battery death. I know that's true for all Lithium batteries but I'm not sure if that also applied to the nickel type ones.
Great video 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
How can you not lock the doors? You not being able to turn that off makes no sense.
I found that the doors can be locked with the engine ON with a physical key from the outside or by pressing a lock button on the door panel from inside the cabin. Cheers!
Toyota also turned off the unlimited HVAC starting in the 2020 Toyota Prius . They dont want you to use the prius car or the sienna as a camper because it decreases the battery life.
Thank you for your comment, Ray. Based on my testing HVAC has a limited utility as climate control feature for camping.
@@Tellvia prior to 2020, the Toyota Prius can function as hvac using the hybrid battery. Toyota turned this function off and limited the hvac to 20 minutes in 2020 so they could raise the battery warranty as a selling point. The Toyota Sienna would have been the perfect camper if they left this function on but it decreases the battery life. It also takes hours to remove the second row seats in the Siena now and the airbag light stays on . Unfortunately the Toyota Sienna is just a grocery getter now. But hey, it gets 36 MPG so there is that.
I added an Lithium Iron Phosphate bettery as well as a larger lead acid battery to my Sienna's 12 volt system as it is responsible for running the fans of the HVAC system. It also supports a 2000 watt inverter (mine did not come with factory inverter) for powering conveniences. Wish I could tweak the usage of the internal battery/hvac/hybrid system for camping mode.
@@ArnoldJagt you can tap into those batteries but the deal is, when the battery gets low, the engine wont automatically start to recharge the battery. In the 2019 prius , the heat and ac will stay on all night long. When the battery gets low, the engine starts for a few minutes and recharges the battery. You might be able to turn off the new 20 minute time limit on the prius and sienna but that would be a software hack. Basically , Toyota doesnt want you to use the car as a camper. Btw , the Tesla has the same climate control that runs the heat and AC off the battery all night. You just put the car into camping mode. You can even watch Netflix on the Tesla screen. If Tesla ever makes a small van, it would be the perfect camper.
@RAY RAY Not sure what you say is true…check my other post here.
you are wrong , once you are inside the car, you can manually lock the car and the car engine will on 24/7.... we sleep good with the ac on all night and our van is lock..... we have a 2023 sienna.
The sienna van is smarter than you! It knows that no one is inside so you can’t lock yourself out of the van. You should be able to lock it with climate control ac running and no one inside with the manual key that slides out of the remote key fob. And you should be able to lock the van with the driver’s door lock switch from inside with van running and climate control on and then just go to sleep in ac comfort without hybrid system shutting off after an hour enabled by the leave engine on option.
Thumb up.
There is a way to lock your vehicle while you're inside! You use the key in your fob! Figure it out...
Hi Peter, thank you for your comment. I think you have meant to say lock the vehicle from outside.😀 Yes, I found this out after I made the video. Cheers!
Skip campgrounds!!